This is the place for stories about trips to explore beer in other parts of the nation and world.  While some use the term “Beercation” to describe this sort of activity, I prefer to call it investigative journalism.

Boston Craft Beer Adventure – A Romantic Weekend Getaway 

Who says craft beer and romance don’t mix?  The wife and I do our best to sample the breweries of Beantown.

Colorado Beercation Part 1 – Fort Collins

In July 2015 I flew out to Denver and met my friend Ralph for a 5 day/4 night vacation with just one purpose, drinking the best Colorado beers we could find.  In this post I describe our adventures in one of America’s beer meccas, Fort Collins.

Colorado Beercation Part 2 – Boulder

In part 2 of the great Colorado beercation series we move south to Boulder and the surrounding communities.  Stops include pioneering breweries like Oskar Blues, Left Hand and the jaw dropping new Avery Brewing facility.

Colorado Beercation Part 3 – Denver

The third and final installment of my Colorado Beercation series.  This post focuses more on underrated breweries located in strip malls on the periphery of Denver like Comrade, Cannonball Creek and Drydock.  Stops at Crooked Stave, Trve and the Falling Rock Taphouse are also included.

Wild at Heart – Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project

Crooked Stave is the creation of Chad Yakobsen, a man with an unrivaled passion for the wild yeast Brettanomyces.  Think Brett is all about pale ales with a funky barnyard nose, think again.  In March 2015 I paid a visit to this unique Denver brewery and report back on Yakobsen’s wild and tasty creations.

A visit to Leipzig – Home of Gose

A couple of decades ago commercial Gose brewing was non-existent.  After German reunification this subtly sour, salty beer had to be reborn from old recipes and memories of old timers in Leipzig.  In this post I describe a day trip to Liepzig where I visit the places where this once dead but now trendy style was reborn.

Wild on the Coast – A visit to de Garde Brewing

Of all the breweries I’ve visited since starting this blog none are more interesting than de Garde.  A small brewery located in an even smaller town on the Oregon coast who rely exclusively on spontaneous fermentation to make an intriguing line of wild ales.

Getting Bent in Bend – So many breweries so little time

Here is my report from a weekend spent in one of the beer meccas of the west, Bend, Oregon.  A town dripping with so much good beer that Deschutes only gets my rating as the fourth best brewery in town.

Searching for Sahti in Helsinki

I spent a weekend checking out the pubs of Helsinki while searching for one of the oldest and most primitive beer styles in the western world, the Finnish farmhouse ale Sahti.

Drinking Beer in Wine Country – The Breweries of Santa Barbara

Most people think wine when they think Santa Barbara, but there’s some high quality beer coming out of this wine mecca.  In this post I get an early morning start to give you the scoop on the breweries of Santa Barbara.

Hunting Double IPAs in the Wilds of Vermont

There are some seriously hyped and hoppy beers being made in Vermont, but the truth is that even after you get to Vermont they are not very easy to track down.  In this post I describe a day trip with the goal of tracking down some of these elusive hop elixers.

A Visit to Allagash Brewing

Maine’s Allagash Brewing was one of the first American craft breweries to specialize in Belgian-style ales, and they continue to push the envelope. Here I describe a visit and tour of the brewery

Session Beers in Spud Country, Portneuf Valley Brewing

Going back to my roots in this post from Pocatello, Idaho.  Portneuf Valley Brewing is one of the only breweries in Southeast Idaho.  Stylistically they are notable for the fact that 75% of their year round beers are less than 4% abv.

Hitting the Asheville Ale Trail Part 1 – Wicked Weed Brewing

I visited Asheville, NC in June 2014 and visited 6 breweries in the 4-time winner of the Beer City USA contest. This first stop describes a place that makes great beers in styles that range from hoppy IPAs to barrel aged beers to open fermented Brett ales.  An east coast version of Russian River Brewing in my opinion.

Hitting the Asheville Ale Trail Part 2 – Green Man Brewing

One of Asheville’s oldest breweries Green Man Brewing has a laid back, funky tap room and specializes in British style ales and a couple of sours.

Hitting the Asheville Ale Trail Part 3 – Burial Beer Co.

This is a nanobrewery set in an old industrial building that has the vibe of an old time farmhouse/barn.  Innovative beer, laid back atmosphere, this was my favorite stop of the trip.

Hitting the Asheville Ale Trail Part 4 – Highland Brewing

This is the oldest and the largest of the home-grown Asheville breweries.  They offer daily tours and live music on the weekends.  Pretty good with the darker beers, not so much with the pale ales.

Hitting the Asheville Ale Trail Part 5 – Wedge Brewing

A casual, local brewery located on the first floor of an Art Studio near the railroad tracks in Asheville.  This place has a great atmosphere and makes a dangerously delicious Belgian Imperial IPA.

Hitting the Asheville Ale Trail Part 6 – Hi-Wire Brewing

Another member of Asheville’s class of 2013.  Hi-Wire offers above average beers, a clever circus theme, and Asheville’s most beguiling bartender.

A Visit to Toppling Goliath Brewing

This is the first in a series of three posts that describe breweries I visited on the drive from Pocatello, ID to Columbus, OH in May 2014. This first post describes an out of the way brewery in NE Iowa that makes phenomenal hoppy beers.

A Visit to New Glarus Brewing

The second stop on my cross country road trip is New Glarus Brewing, the pride of Wisconsin. They are 18th largest craft brewery in the country, yet you may have never tried one of their they beers because they only distribute in Wisconsin.

Three Floyds Brewing – Another White Whale Bites the (Zombie) Dust

The final stop on my Idaho to Ohio cross country trip was a place I’ve long wanted to visit, Three Floyds Brewing on the outskirts of Chicago.  In this post I describe this funky place and describe my first encounter with their highly coveted but hard to find Pale Ale, Zombie Dust.

SoCal Beercation Day 1: San Diego 

This post describes the first day of a weekend brewery getaway I took to San Diego in March 2014 with my friend Tom Pajor.  In this post I describe our visits to Pizza Port (in Carlsbad), Ballast Point, Hess Brewing, Alesmith, and Wet & Reckless Brewing.

SoCal Beercation Day 2: San Diego 

This post describes the second day of our San Diego beercation.  In this post I describe our visits to Alesmith, Alpine, Modern Times, Fathom Bistro and Stone (in Escondido).

SoCal Beercation Day 3: The Bruery 

Officially day 3 was neither a vacation, nor was I in San Diego anymore.  However, I did make an evening visit to the Bruery in Orange County.  If in Southern California this is one brewery you can’t miss.

SoCal Beercation Day 4: Angel City

This was the last day of my trip to Southern California. I got a nice surprise when my host took me to Angel City Brewery in the Little Toyko district of Los Angeles.

Beers from Boston Part 1: Breweries and Beers

This is the first of two posts from my visit to Boston in the first week of December 2013.  I give brief descriptions and reviews of the following breweries: Cambridge Brewing Company, Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project, Jack’s Abby, Trillium, Harpoon, and Maine Beer Company.

Beers from Boston Part 2: Finding Good Beer

In this second post from Boston I discuss the craft beer bars and bottle shops I was able to visit during my trip, including an exceptional bar called Lord Hobo located in Cambridge, MA.  I finish up with some strategies for getting beer home in your suitcase.

Columbus Brewery Guide

While Columbus is my home it might not be yours.  If you are visiting Columbus in the near future this guide (which I try to update on a regular basis) could be useful information for you.